Seeing ‘Bound’ in bookstores and in readers’ hands has been and is an exciting and humbling experience. I never guessed though at some of the other doors my debut novel would pry open for me. Though my novel, I have meet many hundreds of people who love to read, who are interested in our history and who support local artisans for which I am enormously grateful. I have had the opportunity to support local organizations and institutions through presentations, donating books and profiling their work. And now, a possible path for telling the Bound story has recently opened and who knows where it may lead. I have been working with an award-winning screenwriter over the fall and we now have the pilot for a limited series for television. Recently, several big-name production companies have requested the script to determine if it might be a fit for their audience. The world-building in historical fiction is at the heart of the attraction of this genre for many. Of course, reproducing this created world on screen is incredibly powerful but also very expensive. But for an author, even the possibility of having our work make it to the screen to be enjoyed in a different way by a new audience is something that we as writers dream about. 

​Another wonderful opportunity Bound had created for me is receiving invitations to speak to groups on aspects of Prince Edward Island history. Some of these presentations have been directly related to the topics addressed in my novel while others were only tangentially so.

Community, cultural and other groups have sought presentations on Indigenous treaties, parallels between Ireland and Island, remarkable Island women and more. While much of this information comes from research for my novel, other areas required digging deeper into certain factors and influences on Island history and culture over the centuries.

The presentation on women who shaped the Island over three centuries was a great opportunity to profile strong characters who have often been overlooked in the traditional histories of the area. These include female Mikmaq, Acadian and enslaved persons who lived on the Island for a time.  It also includes several remarkable women who appear in the pages of Bound including Suzanna Torriano, Nellie MacDonald and Freelove Haszard. Of course, just because they were women didn’t mean they were necessarily on the right side of an issue, at least in my view.  including an British  heiress who became the landlord of over 60,000 acres and refused to sell so that her tenants could finally own the land they worked.

​Talking about ‘Islandness’ and the distinctive culture that developed on PEI like many other Islands not only creates a greater understanding of our history but challenges us learn and think more about who we are and why.

When my son was little, he was captivated by the ‘choose your own adventure’ books. He not only enjoying following the different plot threads but also have the choice of which one to follow. I had no idea when Bound was published that it would turn into a ‘choose your own adventure’ experience with so many interesting avenues to pursue.
​
I knew of course that there would be a book launch to get my historical novel out into the world and hoped readers would enjoy the story.  I have no idea how many book clubs have chosen to read Bound but I never imagined that almost two dozen book clubs on Prince Edward Island would invite me to join their discussions, so rewarding for an author. But it was more than a privilege. I have been so impressed with the interest and curiosity of these readers about the characters, real or reimagined, their motivations and worries and the world these people occupied in late 1700s PEI.

Of course, for hundreds of years, adults gathered – whether it was the Mechanics Clubs or the Blue Stocking Society mentioned in Bound – to learn and discuss topics of interests. But to have so many book clubs choose Bound and to have this level of interest in the novel’s characters and Island history generally has proven to be an adventure I didn’t anticipate when I opened my laptop and began writing my novel.

Wonder what adventure is next…

Since Bound was published last August, I have been struck by how similar Islanders’ comments on the novel have been. Many have said they didn’t know anything about this period of the Island’s history and wished this was how history was taught in school. They wanted to know less about the dates of British kings and more about the people here and how they lived in the colony’s early years. Many have said that few history courses in school or university paid much attention to the Mi’kmaq or even mentioned that there were enslaved persons on the Island for a time. Maybe in a small way, this is about to change. This summer, the PEI Ministry of Education contacted me to say they are recommending Bound for school libraries and are considering it for the curriculum. But I am especially pleased with a message I received last week from a UPEI professor who let me know that he was having his 3rd year PEI History students read Bound and prepare a book review as many of the novel’s themes mirrored those being explored in his course.
​
I am honoured that Bound is seen as making a contribution and hopefully it will inspire readers to dig a bit deeper and learn more about our Island and its interesting and eventful past.